echoes of fdr, a fighting president who also had a long-term stagnant economy. this was a guy who is ready to go to combat, and he said, look, you both were great but i now need your voices. >> alex brings up history. let's check with h.w. brands. he's a professor and author from the university of texas. i'm curious about your viewpoint on this speech from a historical perspective. >> a couple things. i was struck by the fairly combative tone the president took. it's really clear he's not backing down from the fact that he won the election, so he's going to govern because he won. he and the other people in office took the oath to god and his country. he tried to reach over the heads of his opposition by repeatedly calling to the people. fellow citizens, fellow citizens, we need to do this. i think perhaps the most important part of the speech is one that's gone comparatively unremarked so far, and that is his review to his predecessors for what he called his declaration of war and his belief that the united states does not have to seek a policy of perpetual war,